LaMarcus Aldridge Pays His Bets

The Oregon Ducks football team wrapped up their season by beating the Texas Longhorns 30-7 in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30. A trip to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl was a bit of a letdown for the Ducks, a team many thought would play for the National Championship, after playing in four consecutive BCS bowls, though finishing their 2013 campaign with an 11-2 record and a blowout victory against a powerhouse like the Longhorns in Texas is certainly an achievement.

But it’s not an achievement LaMarcus Aldridge celebrated. Aldridge, who played two seasons for

Rick Barnes at Texas before leaving for the NBA, made a bet with a Trail Blazers basketball communications manager Collin Romer who graduated from Oregon. The stakes were simple: If Texas won, Romer would have to wear Longhorns gear for a day, and if Oregon won, Aldridge would be bound to spend one day decked out in Oregon apparel.

And today, we see via Aldridge’s Twitter and Instagram accounts that the 6-11 power forward is paying off his bet today, with an assist from the University of Oregon athletic department.

Here’s Aldridge in a pair of Nike Lunar Hypergamer low, post with the caption “Never lose a bet!”

The sneakers debuted in the Jan. 7 Civil War game between the Ducks and Beavers and are not yet available to the public, so at least Aldridge can take pride in knowing here’s wearing something rather exclusive.

Aldridge also wore a Oregon hoodie on his way to practice, as seen here …

“I lost a bet to Collin, that my Longhorns would beat his Ducks and I lost,” said Aldridge, “so I kept my word and I wore all Oregon gear today. It was tough, but I did it.”

Wearing Oregon-branded Jordan’s are all the rage among athletes and celebrities these days, so Aldridge gets to be fashion-forward while paying his bets.

Casey Holdahl is the beat reporter for Trailblazers.com. A graduate of the University of Oregon's Allen School of Journalism and Communication, Holdahl founded BlazersEdge.com and worked at the Statesman Journal and OregonLive.com before joining the Trail Blazers in 2007.